


it's the small things

by liese_l



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Gen, Pets, Puppies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-30
Updated: 2013-01-30
Packaged: 2017-11-27 13:05:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/662316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liese_l/pseuds/liese_l
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Kanaya brings home a young woofbeast, and Rose is not thoroughly impressed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's the small things

Your name is Kanaya Maryam, and you’re not sure what to do with this thing. You couldn’t just leave it there, shivering in its damaged cardboard box, surely getting its death of a cold in the crisp mid-winter air. Your caste is known to be maternal after all, and you think your instincts must’ve gone into overdrive with the way you dramatically scooped it into your arms and hid it under your coat. Now the only problem is, you’re not entirely sure how to look after it. Or if Rose is going to be particularly pleased. Rose is not a ‘woofbeast person’, as she often says. She’s far more in tune with her soft fluffy meowbeast, Alice. You know Rose loves winter, when she can curl up by the window as the snow falls, Alice in her lap, and a good book in her hands. You’re not terribly fussed when it comes to Earth beasts, but this little woofbeast, with its floppy ears, shiny brown eyes and paws that are too big for its tiny legs, has, as clichéd as it sounds, taken your heart.

 

You bundle the shivering little thing under your coat as you make your way home, your arms crossed protectively around it to protect it from the crush of strangers making their way to the station. You’re pretty sure Earth beasts are allowed on the train, and even if they’re not, you’re sure no one will begrudge such an innocent little creature. You’re one of the few trolls in the carriage, and it always makes you feel nervous the way the humans eye your horns and frown at your greenish-grey skin. You feel even more self-conscious now with the woofbeast making your chest bulge out. At least it’s not moving too much, but of what you know of juvenile Earth beasts, this is probably not a good sign.

You make it off the train, and you scurry out of the station, fumbling with your ticket as you simultaneously try to maintain your grip on the woofbeast and put your ticket into the gate. Once you’re out of the hot stuffy air of the station, and into your cooler, emptier suburb streets, away from dozens of curious eyes, you can relax. But still, you know you have to hurry home. The little creature shaking against your chest demands it.

 

The hearty scent of bolognaise sauce greets you as you click open your apartment door, and Rose is sure enough standing at the stove, her back to you, stirring the simmering sauce.

“Welcome home, Kanaya,” she says, not turning to see you, but her voice soft. “How was work?”

“Oh, the usual. Sewing, sewing, sewing,” you say, your voice shaking. You had managed to get yourself a job at a small boutique that custom-made all their garments. It was rare for a troll to be able to get such work, but you suppose your portfolio must have impressed them enough. “And you? How’s the novel going?”

“It’s getting there. I may have done a wee bit of procrasti-brewing. Dave stopped by demanding apple juice, but I think I accidentally made him ale. Oh well.”

“Your ability to accidentally brew illegal alcoholic beverages never ceases to astound me.”

Rose turns around to smile at you, and then immediately frowns.

“What’s that under your coat?”

“Um,” you say as you awkwardly manoeuvre the tiny thing out of your coat. Rose looks at you pityingly, and you can’t help but feel flustered.

“It was just sitting there, looking so sad and cold and pathetic and I just felt so sorry for it, and it’s so young, I just had to pick it up. Look at it Rose, it’s so… adorable.” You hoist the little thing up so Rose can see its shining brown eyes.

“It’s a dog,” Rose says flatly, one eyebrow raised.

“I believe that is the proper Earth term for it, yes,” you say, looking down and chewing your bottom lip. You bring the woofbeast close to your chest.

“Kanaya…” she looks frustrated and compassionate and pitying all at once, and your stomach knots and you feel your eyes begin to sting with her ultimate disappointment. She moves over to you and scoops the woofbeast from your hands, and scrutinises it with her sharp Seer eyes. Alice hisses at the woofbeast from where she is perched on the couch, and the creature whimpers in response.

“It’ll be difficult to keep,” Rose says. “We don’t have a yard, and I doubt Alice could get along with it.” Green tinted tears begin trickling from your eyes despite your best efforts (you feel so pathetic sometimes), and you feel Rose’s warm hand cup your cheek.

“Kanaya, honey, it’s okay,” she says, thumbing away the tears. “Look, we’ll think about it, okay? Hey, while I get dinner ready, why don’t you give it a bath?”

You nod slowly, not wanting to leave her warmth, but you take the small woofbeast from her arms and carry it to the bathroom. You half fill the sink with warm water and gently place the small creature in. It makes a small noise, and looks up at your with large pleading eyes. You feel your heart melt under that gaze, and you know there’s no way you could give the precious thing up.

You find Alice’s shampoo in the cupboard behind the mirror, and figuring meowbeasts and woofbeasts can’t be all that different, lather it up in the tiny thing’s fur. The water soon turns dirty and grey, and the woofbeast’s dull fur soon transforms into a rich chocolate colour. You think that Terezi would love this Earth beast. (But you’re not entirely sure you would trust her with it.)

 

You rinse it off, and fetch a towel for it and set it on the tiles and rub it dry. It seems to be in better spirits now, and is gazing up at you adoringly. It jumps up and places its too-big paws on your knee, and you scratch it behind the ears the way you see Rose do to Alice, and it wags its tail appreciatively. Rose calls for dinner, and you carry the little thing out to the kitchen. Rose has, surprisingly to you, placed a bowl of Alice’s meowbeast food in a plastic bowl by the table.

“Rose?” you say, clutching the little thing even tighter.

“I imagine the puppy is quite hungry,” she says, gesturing towards the bowl as she scoops pasta and sauce into bowls for the both of you. “I thought it would be cruel to let it go without.”

You smile at her as you place the woofbeast down, and it sniffs at the lump of grey meat before biting into it with its adorable little teeth and making the cutest little sounds, and you think you make an audible squeak. You see Rose smirking at you out of the corner of your eye, and she pecks you on the cheek as she carries the bowls to the table.

You both sit down and eat, and more than once you find yourselves giggling at the little woofbeast as it laps up the food, and as Alice hisses at the thing that dares invade her territory.

 

The woofbeast sits at your feet as you wash up (Rose is sitting on the couch, watching some teen vampire drama and petting Alice to keep her from going into strife mode), and you think you might die from the creature’s apparent adoration. You finish the dishes and stack them in the drying rack, and move to sit on the couch, making sure to place the woofbeast next to you, behind a tastefully crocheted cushion, out of Alice’s sight. You lean against Rose, and she places her free hand against your neck and rubs in gentle circles, and you smile and close your eyes and hum softly.

“There is a park nearby,” Rose says after a silence filled with ridiculous dialogue from the TV. “It has big paws, so it’s going to be big. But if you take it to the park and walk it for at least an hour everyday, I think we can manage.”

“What about Alice?” you ask, eyeing the half-asleep cat. She glares at you with her yellow-slitted eyes.

“Oh, I don’t think she’ll cause any trouble, really.” Rose’s fingers hit a particularly tense knot in your neck and you sigh happily. “I think she’s just irritated that there’s an intruder in her space. She’ll get over it.”

“I’ll walk the woofbeast in the morning when I can’t do it in the afternoon,” you say, flicking your eyes up to look at Rose. “I promise.”

Rose giggles. “You sound like me when I begged for Jaspers. ‘I promise I’ll feed him! I promise I’ll bathe him!’”

You frown, and Rose tsk’s and lifts your head up. “I’m teasing you, Kanaya.” She smiles softly and presses a kiss to your lips, and melt into her. Your kiss is only interrupted by a sudden loud hiss as the woofbeast scrambles onto your lap and Alice bares her teeth at it.

“Alice!” Rose scolds as she scoops the creature up, away from the little woofbeast. “Don’t hiss at the puppy. It means you no harm. Honestly, what are you, a cat?”

You laugh at that, and scoop the woofbeast int your own arms.

“It needs a name,” you say, tilting your head to the side as you think. The woofbeast mimics you and, oh yes, you are going to die from the adorable.

“Call it Cheshire,” Rose says as she nuzzles Alice’s head.

“That is a reference to the same book from which your meowbeast is named, is it not?”

“It is indeed,” Rose smirks. “I see your little woofbeast is going to be the cause of much frustration for Alice, so I believe Cheshire to be a fitting name. Even if it is of the wrong species.”

“Very well then,” you say dramatically, lifting the woofbeast into the air. “You shall be hereby known as Cheshire the Frustrator.” Cheshire barks in approval.

Rose shakes her head at your shenanigans, and leans in to kiss you once more.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for an anonymous prompt over at meteoricgirlfronds on tumblr.


End file.
